Of Light and Shadows
by bkwrmnlvnit
Summary: One shots for Raberba Girl's "Other Kinds of Love" challenge. Current theme: Bread. Stories about mostly characters in the Organization, maybe some AU's later on. Expect lots of AkuSaiRokuShi or any combination of that. Enjoy!


**Okay, a few things. First thing - I promise, I'm not dead, despite all appearances in regards to updates. Second thing - this is my first KH fic, so sorry if it sucks. I know Saïx is out of character in here, but I try to attribute that to the fact that they've only been Nobodies for a few weeks in this story, so I didn't think he would be insta-jerk. *shrug* I don't know. Either way, please review if you can, constructive criticism is welcome, and hope you enjoy! And of course, happy AkuSai day, everyone!**

Saïx wasn't convinced.

He wasn't convinced of several things actually. Axel's sanity, for one. For another, the idea that trying to make their "infamous" bread was a great plan.

"Axel, this is a terrible idea," Saïx warned, leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen. He was certain it probably had some kind of ominous name concerning darkness or nothingness, but as of yet, he couldn't remember it. It had only been a few weeks since they had become Nobodies- he was still trying to get used to the idea of having no emotions. The adjustment was far closer to the front of his mind than trying to remember the Superior's names for the rooms.

"Aw, come on Isa," Axel whined, drawing his attention again. "It'll be fine. We used to make this all the time."

"It's Saïx. And we made it once."

Axel waved one flour coated arm aimlessly from where he stood, kneading…something…into the dough. "Eh, whatever. It tasted fine then – I'm sure it'll taste alright now. Besides, think of how much fun we had!"

Saïx shut his eyes against the painful reminder, then opened them again. "I remember. But I'm of the opinion that the experience will be far less enjoyable due to our lack of a heart to feel happiness with," he pointed out, voice slightly strained.

Axel winced at the statement, shoulders slumping forward a little. "Yeah," he agreed hesitantly, sounding a little sullen as he scratched his head, leaving behind a flour-white streak. "Still…I think it should still taste alright. Shouldn't it?"

Saïx gave a noncommittal shrug. "It should." A pause. "Do you even remember the recipe?"

Axel cast him an indignant glare. "Of course I remember it. I created the recipe with you- I've got it memorized."

Saïx cringed a little. "Do you have to continue saying that, even now?" he asked. "You're the only person I know who managed to retain their Other's annoying habits."

"I'm also the only person you _knew_ as a Somebody, Is- Saïx," Axel pointed out, correcting himself. "Besides, now I have to get people to remember Axel, not Lea."

"I'm sure no one here suffers from that horrific of a memory disorder to where they could forget your name so quickly after hearing it."

Axel winked. "Probably not. But hey, old habits die hard. Now, are you gonna stand there or are you going to help me out?" he asked.

Saïx stared blankly. Lea seemed to be in such a normal mood. How did he adjust so quickly to this…emptiness? He figured that his friend would be much worse off. But he had slipped in here so easily, after the first week or two. Instead of struggling, Lea had effortlessly become Axel, while Isa still floundered halfway in between himself and Saïx. Unless Axel was just much better at hiding it than could ever have been expected.

"Hello, earth to Isa-I mean, Saïx!" Axel said, facepalming. He kept forgetting their names had changed.

"Huh?"

"Are you planning on helping?"

Saïx shook his head. "Not in particular."

"Come on. I can't do this entirely by myself-it takes too long."

Saïx wavered. He'd seen what happened when Lea got bored of something. Now that he had control over fire, sequels certainly couldn't produce better results.

_What would it hurt for once? _Saïx sighed, then stepped over by his friend.

"Ha! Knew I could convince you," Axel smirked.

"Actually, I'm trying to avoid you burning down the castle," Saïx corrected. "Now what are you doing?"

"What's it look like? I'm adding walnuts into the bread."

Saïx gave him a questioning look. "I don't recall there being any type of nuts in the bread at all," he said. "Are you certain there were any?"

Axel nodded. "Yeah. Positive." He tapped the side of his head. "It's all up here, remember?"

Saïx shook his head. "Alright," he sighed uncertainly. "If you insist." But the further the project progressed, the less precise the measurements became, and the more random the ingredients seemed to become.

"Axel. You really don't remember this, do you? Either that or you're getting bored," Saïx said, pausing to look at his friend. Axel was eyeing the dough with a strange expression that didn't exactly inspire confidence. Still, he turned to look at Saïx.

"It's fine," he insisted. "Trust me. I've got this. Now, all we need to do is let this stuff bake."

Saïx raised a hand in question. "Aren't you forgetting that it's supposed to _rise_ first?" he asked.

Axel shook his head. "No. It doesn't have to raise. Just stuff it in the oven. It works out alright."

Saïx wasn't convinced. "I distinctly remember that it had to rise."

"And I remember that we just baked it."

"One of our memories is off then."

"I _told_ you to get it memorized, but obviously you didn't listen," Axel remarked.

"Axel, I'm almost _positive_ that we waited a while."

"Well, take a risk anyways. We're baking it," Axel said. He raised his hands towards the loaves on the counter.

"Don't tell me you're planning on setting it on fire," Saïx muttered, eyes widening slightly.

Axel turned to give him a cocky grin. "Fine then. I won't tell you," he said.

"Axel, don't-" Saïx's warning was cut short by a small fireball fired at the loaves. He threw up his hands in self-defense from the explosion, then cautiously lowered them in the absence of a bang.

Looking slightly burnt, but not horribly so, the bread lay on the counter, still smoking slightly.

"Told you it would work," Axel said smugly, breaking one loaf in half and tossing it towards Saïx. "Chow time."

Saïx rolled his eyes. One of these days, Axel was going to get them both killed. "Fine," he said.

Axel mock toasted him before biting into his half of the bread. His face instantly contorted into an expression of disgust. As the taste hit him, Saïx was sure his own face mirrored that.

Grabbing a paper towel, both boys promptly spit out what they had just eaten.

"What was that?" Axel gagged, grimacing.

"You tell me!" Saïx replied. "This was your idea, remember? You had the recipe memorized."

"Well somewhere along the way, I forgot something, because that-" he said, pointing to the remaining bread on the counter-"is not what it tasted like the first time."

"I wouldn't have guessed," Saïx said sarcastically.

When they had both downed copious amounts of water to rinse out the taste of…whatever it was they had just made, both looked at each other again. "Well, now what do we do with it?" Saïx asked. "I'm not eating any more of it."

"You think I am?" Axel asked. "We could always give it to Xigbar," he suggested.

"What did he do to you?"

"He's the original troll of the Organization," Axel said. "I think payback is in order."

"Payback, not murder," Saïx said. "Toss it in a trashcan, clean this up and forget it ever happened."

"Where's the fun in that?" Axel asked.

"Neither of us die."

"Oh. Fine," Axel sighed. "I won't poison Xigbar. Think Vexen could use it as a science experiment?"

Saïx glared. "I don't believe he works with mutant creations that should not be in existence. No one is ever seeing that disaster," he said, taking the bread and dumping it unceremoniously into a trashcan, effectively settling the matter.

He noticed that Axel didn't protest much.

After everything had been cleaned up and all evidence erased, by hand since neither Nobody had quite gotten used to the Dusks yet, Axel stretched and looked over at Saïx.

"So. I'm hungry now. Wanna try and make something else?" he asked.

Saïx was quick to respond. "_No._ You are never cooking food again, and certainly not testing if it's edible on me."

"C'mon, Saï," Axel said, but he had already corridored away. He watched the Corridor disappear with a strange smile. "Okay then," he shrugged, opening the refrigerator and pulling out a pie, cutting himself a slice.

_His loss,_ he thought before walking off to find something else to do.

**Bad? Good? Mediocre? Let me know if you can and thanks for reading! Until the next, Bookworm**


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